My daughter is five years old. She is in kindergarten. She likes to wear a hat everywhere she goes. As she falls asleep, she gently rubs her blanket with the tips of her fingers. She is afraid of the vacuum. She loves bacon and stealing sips of my coffee. When she’s hurt, she’ll ask me to kiss her “boo-boo-owie.” She’s watched “A Bug’s Life” so many times, she has the dialogue memorized. When she’s tired, she’ll sometimes crawl into my lap and fall asleep curled up next to me. She’s mostly left-handed, but sometimes she’ll decide to write with her right hand … because she can. She gets into trouble and sits on time-out, which she does not like – not one little bit. When she says, “I’m sorry” or “I love you,” she means it.

When I heard the news yesterday about the horrible tragedy that happened at Sandy…